NFL midseason predictions: AFC

With the NFL reaching its halfway point it has been a very eventful season so far and now we can certainly say that the playoff chase is underway! In most of the divisions there is still lots to play for so with nine weeks left lets take a look at how I think each division will end at the end of the season:

AFC East:

Despite an up and down start, performance wise, to the season the New England Patriots have managed to win 6 of their 8 games played so far this season. The win over Miami put them two games ahead of the second placed New York Jets and despite some key divisional matchups still to come the Patriots are my bet to win their fifth straight divisional title. On offense Tom Brady and co will improve in the second half of the campaign with Gronk back plus with Bill Belichick in charge of the team you know that even with a lot of young players and unfortunate injuries the Patriots always prepare well and on their day can beat anyone.

Miami are a game back at 3-4 while the Jets are 4-4 but New York are overachieving in many people's eyes so there chances of a playoff spot are still a long shot. Miami on the other hand has the talent to make a run at a wildcard spot but tomorrow night they face the in form Bengals who will provide a very tough challenge! As for the Bills well despite being not so far back at 3-5 they are still rebuilding and injuries haven't helped them so you can cross them off the list from performing any second half of the season dramatics!

Skye's end of season standings:

1st: New England Patriots 12-4
2nd: Miami Dolphins 8-8 
3rd: New York Jets 6-10
4th: Buffalo Bills 5-11

I am going to be bold and stick with my AFC East predictions that I made in early September with the same records too.


AFC North:

The Bengals have taken the AFC by storm and have recorded impressive victories over the NFC teams like the Packers and Lions. They annihilated the Jets last week and came out on top in a tough game against the Patriots recently too so Cincinnati is proving to be a possible contender come the start of the playoffs Even if the Baltimore Ravens win their game in hand they will still be two behind the Bengals but in week 10 they face off in a game which will be critical to deciding who wins the division despite it still being early days and despite the fact that they meet again on the last day of the regular season.

At 6-2 and still improving I will definitely say that the Bengals win the division whilst the Steelers and Ravens try their best to at least make 8-8 to give them a chance at a wildcard spot. The Steelers have overcome early season struggles to rack up two wins before losing last week to leave them at 2-5; Big Ben has declared this week's game against the Patriots a must win but unfortunately for them you can write them off for 2013. Like them the Browns have also had bad luck in terms of injuries with the 3-5 team looking for a revival under QB Brian Hoyer before he suffered a season ending injury. Defending Super Bowl champions Baltimore lack an identity and even if they make the postseason lady luck won't strike twice for the Ravens.

Skye's end of season standings:

1st: Cincinnati Bengals 11-5
2nd: Baltimore Ravens 8-8
3rd: Pittsburgh Steelers 6-10
4th: Cleveland Browns 4-12


AFC South:

Injuries have been the talk of the NFL in 2013 with many teams suffering critical losses but despite that burden being shared by the Colts they went out and traded for Trent Richardson to give quarterback Andrew Luck a real weapon in the running game. The importance of that trade will be magnified now that they have lost Reggie Wayne to a season ending injury but the Colts have looked very impressive as they are the team who ended the undefeated streaks of the Seahawks and Broncos respectively. To be at 5-2 after facing those two teams and including a victory over the 49ers is scary for their AFC counterparts to look at. Andrew Luck is really something special and you have to say that Indianapolis is a real Super Bowl contender.

With their schedule looking slightly easier for their remaining 9 games I'm betting on them to win the division and stamp their authority on the AFC South with a win over the depleted Texans on the road this weekend. The 2-5 Texans and 0-8 Jags can count their 2013 seasons as write offs while the 3-4 Tennessee Titans are my surprise prediction to make the postseason as they have a schedule which would suggest they could finish say 9-7 and sneak in to the playoffs despite the fact they have some trouble at the quarterback position and have to play the Colts twice (they also have to play the Jags twice so that cancels that out)

Skye's end of season standings:

1st: Indianapolis Colts 13-3
2nd: Tennessee Titans 9-7
3rd: Houston Texans 6-10
4th: Jacksonville Jaguars 2-14

AFC West:

The AFC West is definitely the most intriguing division in the AFC when you consider that the 8-0 Kansas City Chiefs and 7-1 Denver Broncos still have to play each other twice in two games which will essential be crucial in deciding the winners of this division as well as having massive playoff implications regarding seedings! The Chiefs have really brought in to Andy Reid's team spirit which has shown in recent close victories over the likes of Houston whilst on the other hand we have the Broncos who are entertaining to watch and put up high scores each week in entertaining games.

For me I think the bye week is the decider in this division as it has come at the perfect time for the Broncos who need to sort out their defensive weaknesses and ensure that Peyton Manning is healthy whereas the Chiefs get their bye after they face the Bills this week and then they will meet Denver at Mile High after it. The Chiefs will lose their momentum after the bye but still make the playoffs which ultimately is their goal. Personally I feel despite some impressive wins to date their second half of the schedule will hit them hard. I feel they will lose their last two games to Indianapolis and San Diego whilst Denver defeat Houston and Oakland despite them both being on the road. Denver wins the division, Kansas City comes in a close second and the Chargers led by a re-inspired Phillip Rivers return to the playoffs despite finishing 3rd in this division whilst the Raiders remain in obscurity.

Skye's end of season standings:

1st: Denver Broncos 13-3
2nd: Kansas City Chiefs 12-4
3rd: San Diego Chargers 9-7
4th: Oakland Raiders 5-11


Skye's AFC playoff picture:

1st seed: Indianapolis Colts 13-3 (thanks to their 39-33 over the Broncos they win the tiebreaker)
2nd seed: Denver Broncos 13-3
3rd seed: New England Patriots 12-4 
4th seed: Cincinnati Bengals 11-5 
5th seed: Kansas City Chiefs 12-4
6th seed: Tennessee Titans 9-7 (their week 3 win over San Diego 20-17 sees them sneak in to the playoffs)

So in my playoff picture the Colts have home field advantage whilst the Broncos join them in gaining a bye. This means that the wild card round would pit the Kansas City Chiefs on the road against the Bengals whilst the Titans would have it all to do when they visit Gillette Stadium to take on New England. That would give us a mouth watering divisional round and an AFC Championship game to remember. After my NFC predictions I will look at three potential playoff scenarios for both conferences!

NFL playoff picture: AFC

Week 12 brought us three exciting Thanksgiving Day games with plenty more thrills and spills when the rest of the league took to the field later on in the week. This week's games only muddied the AFC playoff picture. As for the NFC well Thursday Night Footballs sees the Saints and the Falcons go head to head in an NFC South clash which has playoff ramifications to go along with bragging rights. For now we are going to take a look at how things currently stand in the American Football Conference with an overview of each division and see who has the best chance of reaching the playoffs.

AFC current standings:

AFC EAST	W	L	T	PCT
New England Patriots	8	3	0	.727
Miami Dolphins	5	6	0	.455
New York Jets	4	7	0	.364
Buffalo Bills	4	7	0	.364
AFC NORTH	W	L	T	PCT
Baltimore Ravens	9	2	0	.818
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	5	0	.545
Cincinnati Bengals	6	5	0	.545
Cleveland Browns	3	8	0	.273
AFC SOUTH	W	L	T	PCT
Houston Texans	10	1	0	.909
Indianapolis Colts	7	4	0	.636
Tennessee Titans	4	7	0	.364
Jacksonville Jaguars	2	9	0	.182
AFC WEST	W	L	T	PCT
Denver Broncos	8	3	0	.727
San Diego Chargers	4	7	0	.364
Oakland Raiders	3	8	0	.273
Kansas City Chiefs	1	10	0	.091

Divisional leaders:

The AFC's leaders are the Patriots, Ravens, Texans and Broncos. All of which are pretty much guaranteed a spot in the playoffs but they still have seeding to battle it out for with the top two seeds earning a bye week when the playoffs begin.

The Patriots currently hold the third seed with their win over the Broncos earlier in the season being the tie breaker but if the Broncos were to beat the Ravens when they meet up and in theory all three hold the same record then the tie break would get complicated as it was the Ravens who beat the Patriots earlier in the season.

As well as that the Patriots and the Texans still have a matchup against each other to worry about and both have divisional rivals hunting for wild card spots. These four teams will be the top four seeded teams come the end of the regular season but with potential tiebreaker chaos and some crunch games coming down the stretch it's anyone's call as to who will earn home field advantage as well as the byes.

The wildcard hunt:

In the South we have the Colts who still have to play the Texans twice. Indianapolis wants to confirm its place in the post-season as soon as possible and potentially if they put on a late run of wins they could dethrone the Texans in the South but a lot would need to go their way.

The East sees the Dolphins take on their divisional leaders twice when they face the Patriots in week 13 as Miami hopes to get back to .500. Their chances of reaching the post-season though are not as likely as the Colts especially as they'll lose the tiebreak to them if it comes down to it following their defeat to Indianapolis earlier in the season.

The other two AFC East teams are the Bills and Jets who are both 4-7 and would both appear to be out of the playoff picture. For the Bills all are in agreement but some believe the Jets could sneak in if they manage to win at least 4 of their next 5. The only way that is could even be a possibility is if Tebow time happens and he produces the god like form, no pun intended, that he did for Denver last season. So in other words, the Jets need miracle.

In the other two divisions all is very different as the West has no potential wildcard teams in the division. It is safe to say that the likes of the Chargers and the Raiders won't make a late surge as they've been shooting themselves in the foot all season.  Meanwhile in the AFC North an injury to Steelers quarterback Big Roethlisberger shook the division up.

Pittsburgh looks mediocre without its franchise QB especially after the week 12 defeat to the Browns. Their rivals, the Bengals, have crept up to a 6-5 record to match the Steelers and look like they could snatch the final wildcard spot. With Pittsburgh facing the Ravens next potentially come the end of week 13 the Steelers will be out of the playoffs at that point in time.

Looking ahead

Steelers @ Ravens: This game is as crucial for Baltimore as it is for their rivals, whether Big Ben returns at quarterback or not for the Steelers it will be the Ravens who come out on top in this one as they hang on to the No. 2 seed for another week.

Patriots @ Dolphins: The Dolphins will give it their all but this mountain is probably too high for Miami. It has the potential to be close as even the Jets and the Bills have had games that have gone to the wire with New England this season but the Patriots know how to win games. With the Patriots currently on a streak of 5 wins in a row they're hitting their second half of the regular season form with both defense and offense taking care of the ball so they'll wrap up another win in week 13 and move on to 9-3.

Bengals @ Chargers: Some people have the Chargers down as a team who could still  make a late sprint in to a wildcard spot but as most people know this San Diego team is no playoff squad. With the Bengals having to endure a rugged schedule in the next few weeks it makes this game even more of a must win if they are to have a shot at making the playoffs. Tough call but Cincinnati should edge it.

Buccaneers @ Broncos: Despite a setback last week this 6-5 Tampa Bay team could still make the post-season but they go on the road against Peyton Manning and co. A Denver win keeps their second-seed dreams alive and Peyton knows how to get a job done so no matter how close this potentially could be for the Broncos they'll win and go on to 9-3.

Colts @ Lions: With the madness going on in the NFC in regards to the playoff picture the Lions will be disappointed that their young talented team couldn't go from good to great this season. They may also be envious of Andrew Luck and the Colts who with a win would create significant clarity in the AFC playoff picture with the wildcard spot firmly in their grasp. Matthew Stafford and co are not going to go down without a fight though, with both young quarterback's knowing how to pull off a 4th quarter comeback I see this going down to a game winning drive by either one of the two; you heard it here first.

And looking even further ahead...

Come the end of the regular season all of the current leaders in the AFC will win their respective divisions. Personally I feel one of the Ravens or the Texans will lose their current bye week seeding but I'm going to try and let my head rule my heart over the following decision:

Seed 1: Houston Texans 14-2
Seed 2: New England Patriots 13-3
Seed 3: Denver Broncos 13-3
Seed 4: Baltimore Ravens 12-4


The Texans have played good football all year, they'll hold on to home advantage and the number one seed. They'll lose two games maximum of their remaining five but more importantly for the Texans if they do take the first seed they need to know that no first seed in a conference has gone on to win the Super Bowl since the 2003 Patriots so Houston fans hold your horses.

I would have rather put the Pats, Broncos and Ravens all at 12-4 or all at 13-3 but I doubt all three will finish with the same record. With that being said regardless of what happens there's going to be a tiebreaker headache and they'll be a tiebreaker between the two of the three or all of them come the climax of the regular season.

Let's assume for a second that New England and Denver sweep their schedules and finish 13-3 and the Ravens win 4 of their remaining 5 with the one loss coming against Denver it will be the Patriots who would win the tiebreaker meaning they'll take the second seed and the bye week based off a better AFC record (11-1) than the Ravens (10-2) and Broncos (10-2). 

Tom Brady knows how to get it done at this stage of the season and Bill Belichick's men are 16-0 if you combine the second half of the seasons over the past two years, 17 now following their week 12 win. The same can be said for Peyton Manning, he and Brady are both future hall of famers and have been in this position so both Denver and New England will finish the season strongly.

Overall I'm going with the Patriots and the Texans getting that pass in to the divisional round. Baltimore's injuries on defense will take their toll resulting in a defeat to say Denver; that will open up the race for the second seed which I fancy New England to end up taking.

As for the wildcard spots well Andrew Luck has had a great year for the Colts and despite whatever is thrown at them Indianapolis seem to find a way through so they'll take the fifth seed for the playoffs. The sixth seed is the tougher call, usually the Steelers have the know-how and resilience to win games but the young Bengals have found a way to get back in the playoff picture. 

Honestly it will come down to the week 16 matchup between the two as no other AFC team has the capability of putting a run together to challenge for that last wildcard spot. Pittsburgh's defense can keep them in games until Big Ben returns but regardless of that I think like Indianapolis it will be the Bengals who enjoy a fairy-tale of their own by also reaching the playoffs.

One thing's for sure, it is going to be a very exciting end to the season as the playoff chase is now definitely in full swing!